Hoffman, Brewers toast Kendall's 2K hit

Jason Kendall said he was touched by the show of support from his teammates, who toasted the veteran catcher’s 2,000th career hit Monday night with some suds packed just for the occasion.

Phil Rozewicz, who runs the visitor’s clubhouse at Miller Park and is a longtime buddy of Kendall’s, printed labels commemorating the milestone and pasted them on enough bottles of beer for everyone on the team. Trevor Hoffman led a toast immediately after the Brewers’ 8-4 win at Busch Stadium.

“It was pretty special,” Kendall said. “This is a great group of guys.”

With his second-inning single off Kyle Lohse, Kendall became the eighth player to catch 1,000 games and record 2,000 hits. Only 254 other players in Major League history had reached that milestone before Kendall. Colorado’s Todd Helton joined the list on Tuesday night.

His teammates certainly thought it was a big deal. But the ceremonial beer shower that has accompanied such celebrations — think Corey Hart making the All-Star team last season — was missing. Kendall managed to stay suds-free, at least on the outside.

Kendall is a class act and one of the main reasons the chemistry on this team is where it’s at. If they can survive the loss of Weeks and the unforseen bumps that always occur during MLB marathon seasons, they have a chance of being a really great team for several years. I like their chances. Fun stuff to watch and listen to. Go Brew Crew!

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